White Center Now: The blog about White Center

From the White Center Community Development Association website – you can find out more about preparedness in a workshop November 16th at White Center Library, 5 pm. Full details here.

From tonight’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting (lots more news to come): White Center Community Development Association has announced the next White Center Community Summit for December 4th at White Center Heights Elementary School, 9:30 am-4 pm, according to NHUAC members and others here who received the announcement. More information when we get it!

Two big events tonight in White Center: The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets at 7 pm at the North Highline Fire District HQ – here’s the agenda, as mentioned here on WCN earlier in the week – and an ice-cream social at Full Tilt Ice Cream, complete with live music! Details and RSVP info here.

We’ve been covering the election all night on partner site West Seattle Blog – but the same races are relevant to White Center too. It was a good night for guys named Joe – at left, Joe McDermott talked with us as the only election-night ballot count put him way out in front in the race for King County Council District 8; at right, Joe Fitzgibbon talked with us after learning he had a sizable lead in the race for 34th District State House Position 2. One major issue of note for White Center and the rest of the unincorporated area – King County Proposition 1, the sales-tax increase that was supposed to prevent law-enforcement and criminal-justice budget cuts from being so severe, is losing, with 56% no. For an overview in many other races, check out not only WSB but also our regional partners at the Seattle Times.

7 pm Thursday, North Highline Fire District HQ as always. Here’s the agenda:

**
*7:00 p.m. Call to order*
* Flag salute*
* Roll call*
* Approval of agenda*
* Approval of minutes*

*7:05 p.m. Public announcements*

*7:10 p.m. Public comment – 3 minutes for individuals*
* 5 minutes for groups*

*7:15 p.m. Mike Martin, Burien City Manager*

*7:20 p.m. KCSO Capt Joseph Hodgson – Crime Stats*

*7:30 p.m. Don Althauser, Managing Engineer King County DNRP/WLRD/SWS*

*7:50 p.m. BJ Cummings, Duwamish River Clean Up *

*8:10 p.m. Treasurers Report *

*8:15 p.m. Corresponding Secretary Report*

*8:20 p.m. Committee Reports*
* 1. Governance *
* 2. Arts and Parks *
* 3. Public Safety*
* 4. Housing and Human Services *
* 5. Public Outreach*
* 6. Transportation*
* 7. Steve Cox Memorial*
*8:35 p.m. Unfinished Business*
* *
*8:40 p.m. New Business*
* Discussion: Council Priorities **
____________________________________________________________________________________
*

Announced by White Center’s Holy Family School:

In Honor of Veterans Day, 2010

General Steve Ritchie will be speaking to the Seattle Chapter of the Air Force Association and the Puget Sound Chapter of the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates. General Ritchie is the only Air Force pilot ace of the Vietnam Conflict.

He will be speaking at Holy Family Parish School on November 10, 2010 at 7 PM.

Please RSVP to fcantwell@hfseattle.org
(No Charge – Donations for Holy Family will be accepted.)

Holy Family Parish School
9615 20th Ave SW
206-767-6640

Noticed this while in downtown White Center for a few photos at midday Monday – Pho 54 at Roxbury/16th is closed until at least next Monday (the handwritten sign was a litle difficult to read) and will reopen as Pho Lynna. Don’t know if it’s an ownership change or just a name change.

Before the holiday gets too far in the rear-view mirror – that video is courtesy of IAM 751, whose members donated a half-ton candy that was delivered last Friday to the Salvation Army center for White Center/eastern West Seattle fun.

We were asked to share this because Greenbridge YWCA is among the locations in need of volunteers:

Get involved with United Way of King County’s Free Tax Preparation Campaign and join the nation’s largest anti-poverty effort! Help low-and moderate-income individuals and families in King County keep more of what they earn!

The United Way Free Tax Campaign Needs Volunteers!
By volunteering once per week during the 2011 tax season, you can help us meet our goal of putting more than $20 million back into the pockets of low-and moderate-income working individuals and families. Speakers of Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Somali, Korean, Amharic, Cambodian and Russian languages are especially needed. Evening, daytime and weekend shifts are available at 18 sites throughout King County.

No Experience Necessary! All volunteers receive free tax preparation training and are certified by the IRS. All sites now recruiting, and have several slots still available! But slots at some sites tend to fill up very fast, so don’t wait! Sign up now!

uwkc.org/taxhelp

Just happened onto this on Facebook, from Proletariat Pizza: There’s a community-built planter in front of their restaurant, which has had its troubles over time (including, PP’s proprietors admit, when they forgot to water it, and the plants died, but were replanted by Vera from Village Green Perennnial Nursery “for a pizza”). This past weekend, PP writes, somebody “totally destroyed it” – but then it was rescued, again by the community. Go to their page to read the full story (in a status update and then in ensuing comments). P.S. Elsewhere on their page, PP also is asking if you’d support them being open on Sundays.

Right now on cable channel 22 or online (kingcounty.gov/council), you can watch a briefing by King County Department of Transportation leaders – both roads and transit – regarding their preparations in case of bad-weather road trouble this winter. (KCDOT director Harold Taniguchi opened by joking that they ordered today’s heavy rain to coincide with the briefing.) One thing they’re stressing, particularly for bus riders, is to sign up for alerts – details on that, and links, are in a news release posted this morning on the county website – find it here.

White Center’s main business district welcomed trick-or-treaters this afternoon, and WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz photographed some of the fun. She says participating businesses included Full Tilt Ice Cream, 3.14 Bakery, Uncle Mike’s Barbecue, Proletariat Pizza, Cafe Rozella, and Big Al Brewing.

MORE PHOTOS ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: Just some of the costumed characters young ‘n’ old who came out this Halloween!

Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for White Center Now

We stopped by the White Center DSHS offices for Thursday night’s White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, where about 20 attendees gathered to discuss neighborhood safety issues, liquor and crime enforcement, and policies for reporting “problem properties” in the WC community.

The meeting was led by WCSDCSC chair Sean Healy and was called to order shortly after 6 pm.

Three upcoming events, mentioned by attendees:

• North Highline Unincorporated Area Council: Next meeting Thursday November 4^th from 7-9 pm at the North Highline Fire Station, 1243 SW 112th St. (map).
• Landlord Training Workshop: Keeping Your Property Safe & Crime-Free: Held by the Seattle Neighborhood Group
  on Monday November 15th from 8:30am-4:30pm, at 2100 24th Ave South. Cost is $25/person, register online at the SNG website.
• South Seattle Drug Free Communities Coalition Meeting: “Come join efforts in High Point to create a safe and healthy community that supports youth and prevents drug, alcohol and tobacco use.” Held on Thursday November 18^th from 3:45-5:45pm at High Point Neighborhood House, 6400 Sylvan Way SW.

First on the agenda for the evening was Lt. Woodrow Perkins from the Liquor Control Board, who reported on two active cases his team is working on:

• Center Market: Perkins reported that the store’s current liquor license expires Oct. 31st (this weekend), and that he hasn’t heard from the owner if they definitely plan to renew. The store had been selling liquor under two temporary permits recently, and had been subject to a suspension.
• Evo (aka Club Evolution): With complaints about Evo dating back to 2002, Perkins reported that his team had made a visit to the club and found they were serving alcohol, which they “confiscated and destroyed in large quantities.” Perkins’ team is doing additional follow-up now (and on a similar club in another location), and is planning to file a report with the King County Prosecutor’s Office with the recommendation that 2 individuals involved would be criminally cited.

This segued into a discussion about alcohol and tobacco advertising in the area, with comments from Perkins as well as Mike Graham-Squire (pictured below, with a poster showing his group’s efforts) from High Point Neighborhood House. Squire led a project this past summer to visit businesses in the 98126 and 98106 area codes to evaluate their compliance with the Liquor Control Board’s new alcohol advertising restrictions adopted statewide earlier this year.

A summary of what the rules entail:

Limiting to four the number of signs advertising alcohol, brand names and manufacturers that are visible from the outside of a retail licensed premises such as stores, bars and restaurants;

Restricting the size of alcohol signs visible from the outside of a retail licensed premises to 1,600 square inches; and

Applying the rules to signs at civic events where alcohol is served, such as beer gardens.

Graham-Squire told meeting attendees that his group found a “high concentration of violations around White Center,” which prompted nods around the room and comments like “that’s not surprising.” He added that his group is planning to do a similar effort again, including giving awards to businesses that go above-and-beyond to limit alcohol advertising. He also said he’s involved with the state’s new Let’s Draw The Line campaign against underage drinking, and encouraged anyone interested in helping to contact him.

Perkins said citizens who notice violations to the advertising rules are encouraged to report them to the project hotline – 888-838-3956 – and “we’ll go visit them.” He did note that his enforcement team is “spread pretty thin” with 4 officers working 8 areas, each covering 500-600 locations, but tries to respond as best they can.  His team uses a “progressive discipline” approach for enforcement, moving from verbal/on-site warnings up to legal action.

Perkins also talked about the city’s Good Neighbor policy, targeting individual businesses selling alcoholic beverages, and listened to concerns from attendees about the rising consumption of energy drinks with high alcoholic content. Local residents reported seeing a huge increase in discarded containers of these “crazy beverages,” which Graham-Squire said  “are the equivalent of 6 beers and 5 cups of coffee in a single 24-ounce can, for $3.”  Perkins acknowledged the issues with the drinks, but said the LCB isn’t in a position to really target them — banning them would require state or federal legislative action.

Next on the agenda was the evening’s guest speaker, Kay Godefroy, executive director of the Seattle Neighborhood Group, who offered tips and strategies for dealing with “problem properties” and “nuisance issues” in the area’s residential neighborhoods. Godefroy encouraged neighbors to gather documentation like photographs and detailed log books (but be safe collecting the information) about any problems you see.

“It’s all about gathering good documentation, getting good detail, and having lots of neighbors do it,” she said. “If we can all help create safe livable residential communities, with no drug dealers or problem neighbors, it makes us all safe.”

Godefroy said the small-claims court system (or rather, the mere threat of small-claims) is an effective way to put pressure on problem neighbors, but “it clearly works best when there are many neighbors co-signing a strongly-worded letter about the problem, not just one signer.” In most cases, she said, the issue never even has to go to court, and the neighbor voluntarily moves toward compliance if 10-15 neighbors manage to co-sign and file a complaint. “You have to be ‘noisy’ and stand up for yourselves,” she said.

Godefroy also emphasized education of property owners, using her group’s Landlord Training Workshops as an example of how they’re trying to keep people informed. The hardest situations, Godefroy said, are single-family properties that are owner-occupied, particularly by someone who may be “2nd or 3rd generation of a family, they inherited the property and just don’t value it.”

When asked by an attendee if renters have the same rights, Godefroy said yes — you can file complaints with the landlord on behalf of multiple residents. In all cases, the idea is to get a letter together — that way, if the issue does go to court, the recipient “can’t say they didn’t know about the problem, they can only say they chose not to address it.”

When asked about how this extends to businesses that may not be cracking down on troublesome activity on their property, Godefroy clarified the difference between criminal activity and “nuisance activity.” If you see a crime happening, report it to 911 and the local authorities immediately. She said it’s good to also document such reports, for the future.

“It’s amazing what a business can do, to help the problem,” she said, saying there are businesses in White Center that had “people outside doing bad things, and got them to stop or to move somewhere else.”

Next meeting: Because of holidays in November and December, the group will hold a single meeting to cover the rest of 2010: It will be on Thursday December 9^th, at the DSHS offices at 6 pm.

(WCN/WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
First, he got the hoodie – then, it was time to walk:

(WCN/WSB photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
This morning at White Center Heights Elementary in Greenbridge, King County Executive Dow Constantine joined in a Walk to School Month event:

He wasn’t the only celebrity on hand, though:

(WCN/WSB photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
Walk to School Month events are in conjunction with Feet First.

Two events happening today/tonight in White Center: I Care Vision Center is having an open house, 1-6 pm, 9650 15th SW, with new fall frame styles to try on, and free single-vision lenses with all frame purchases. Tonight, Café Rozella will host a pumpkin-carving party, 6:30 pm, 9434 Delridge Way SW.

From the official announcement:

The White Center-South Delridge Community Safety Coalition Meeting will be this Thursday, October 28th, from 6-8 pm. We will be meeting at the DSHS building located at 9650 15th Ave SW in the lobby on the second floor.

This month, our guest speaker will be Kay Godefroy from the Seattle Neighborhood Group. She will be sharing information on ways to address concerns about problem or nusiance houses in your neighborhood. With daylight savings quickly approaching and the change in weather, the resources and information from this meeting are sure to be an asset.

We heard this from Feet First and have just confirmed with the King County Executive’s office: KCE Dow Constantine will celebrate Walk to School Month by walking from Greenbridge Plaza to White Center Heights Elementary on Friday morning – they’re planning to leave Greenbridge about 8:20, if you’d like to join in.

Writer Chad Newton makes the proposal on his website: What about a new South Park Bridge that’s aligned along South Cloverdale rather than 14th Avenue South? He made the Google Map above to illustrate his idea. You can read about it here. (Of course, as he notes, this would cost a few hundred million dollars more, but his main point is the west-east disconnect in the south sections of Seattle.)

Coming up next month – save the date to find out more about green jobs! Shared by Ian from White Center Community Development Association:

COMMUNITY GREEN JOBS FORUM

Friday, November 12, 12:00pm-2:00pm

YWCA Learning Center – 9720 8th Avenue SW in White Center

Pre-register for this event by calling (206) 290-5136 or e-mail info@gotgreen.org

Light refreshments and language interpretation available

Be a part of Project GreenLight! Project Greenlight is recruiting men and women of color and low-income workers for FREE job training in:

* Deconstruction – Hazardous materials and demolition jobs that reuse/recycle building materials

* Green Building – Entry-level weatherization installation positions

* Green Manufacturing – Manufacturing/assembly of environmentally sustainable products

This event is sponsored by
Got Green: www.gotgreen.org
Workforce Development Council

Still making up your mind about King County Proposition 1? The Seattle Times (WCN partner) takes a look tonight.